PVP Zone Guide

Colonel Jasmine's PVP Zone Guide
v 1.0


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Intro
2. General PVP Zone Info
3. The PVP Zones

3.1. Bloody Bay
3.2. Siren's Call
3.3. Warburg
3.4. Recluse's Victory

4. Other Types of PVP
5. Self-Preservation Advice
6. The PVP Philosophy
7. Links
8. Glossary
9. Acknowledgments
10. Afterword


1. Intro


1.1 Check It Out

If you haven't been to the game's PVP zones, I urge you to go. At its best, it's a blast, and the PVP zones deliver a wealth of content - play areas, NPCs, quality temp powers, minigames, unique badges, music - that I for one would have been sorry to miss. (After all, PVP received major Dev love for many months.) The zones offer new challenges and a change of pace from your 4823576th door mission. It's also relatively easy to sample the zones with little or no PVP combat if you stay alert and on the move.

This guide contains general info on the PVP zones and what to do when you get there. It surprises me that I found no guide on this subject in the Player Guides forum. It surprises me how many Heroes ask me "Where is Siren's Call?" when I invite them to run door missions there. I am no authority on PVP play, but once had to ask a lot of these questions myself, hence this guide.

This guide focuses on the Hero perspective. Alas, dastardly Villains will make use of this information as well. Much of what I talk about holds true (or holds true in reverse) for Villains.

This guide does not cover subjects treated in depth elsewhere:
--- basics of PVP play (Buffy)
--- badges (Badge-Hunter or Coldfront)
--- zone maps and zone NPC mob types (Badge-Hunter again, look in the Vidiotmaps.com section).


1.2 Key Terms

PVP - Player vs Player. Combat between players in the Arena, a base raid between Super Groups, or the four open PVP zones.

PVE - Player vs Environment. Combat against NPC foes. Before I4, all of City of Heroes was PVE.

See the Glossary, Section 8, for more PVP terms.



2. General PVP Zone Info


2.1. Getting There and Entry Level Requirements

Each PVP zone has an entrance from a PVE (Paragon City) zone, marked on your map with a red dot.

Bloody Bay: Skyway City (Helicopter near Faultline Gate)
Siren's Call: Steel Canyon (Gate in Eastern War Wall)
Warburg: Kings Row (Helicopter near Blue Steel)
Recluse's Victory: Atlas Park (Portal in D.A.T.A Office, Downstairs in City Hall)

All four PVP zones have a minimum Security Level required for entry.

Bloody Bay: 15
Siren's Call: 20
Warburg: 30
Recluse's Victory: 40

As with hazard zones, sidekicking will not get past this; your true Security Level must be the stated level or higher.


2.2. Autoexemp/AutoSK Level

In a PVP zone, everyone is the same Combat Level. You are automatically sidekicked up or exemped down to the appropriate Combat Level if you are lower or higher than this level.

Bloody Bay: 25
Siren's Call: 30
Warburg: 38
Recluse's Victory: 50


2.3. Zoning Grace Period

When you enter a PVP zone, you cannot attack other players, or be attacked by them, until 30 seconds have passed, a fact that will be emphasized by large, obnoxious red countdown numerals, an equally obtrusive warning siren, a "PVP Off" message over your head visible to other players, and your name appearing to others in a dull orange color. You are permitted to move, activate non-attack powers and attack NPCs in this time period.

If you are just there to do door missions, you may be able to get all or most of the way to your mission door in this grace period if you bust a move.


2.4. Zone Minigames

Each zone offers various rewards via minigames, including several temp powers. See the zone sections below; note that your personal score or personal partial completion of these minigames will go away if you leave the zone or log out. (Including going to your SG Base medical facility!)

The minigame status displays also override the display of other mission info in your Nav bar, even when a mission is set. (Yellow and red compass indicator stars still appear.) Mission info is still available on your Mission list.



2.5. PVE Door Missions

Three of the four zones (Bloody Bay, Siren's Call and Warburg) offer PVE door missions through a Longbow contact wearing a bright red and white Longbow uniform and standing near the entrance to the zone.

These door missions are always available, provided you are in the right level range for the zone. They are always timed, will always be Defeat All missions, and feature very good XP and an array of Arachnos villains not seen on the PVE side of Paragon City. (PVP door mission completion bonus was 66% higher in a casual study.) Sometimes they contain glowies. The "Defend the post" mission often does not have a boss at the end and is good for squishies.

Note that once you step inside a door mission, PVE rules apply. You return to your true Combat Level, and can SK, mentor or exemp as normal.

If you are very concerned about or aversive to PVP combat, you can pull the mission, zone out, zone back in, and take advantage of the zoning grace period (see Section 2.3.)


2.5.1 Door Mission Level Ranges

Bloody Bay: 15-25
Siren's Call: 20-30
Warburg: 30-50
Recluse's Victory: None


2.5.2 Door Mission Contacts

Bloody Bay: Warzone Agent Eckman
Siren's Call: Warzone Agent Brinson
Warburg: Warzone Agent Goddard
Recluse's Victory: No missions available


2.5.3 Door Mission Types and Results

The Warzone Agent contacts will give you any of four types of door mission.

Debuff Villain Damage
Debuff Villain Resistance
Buff Hero Damage
Debuff Hero Resistance

When you successfully complete the mission, the listed effect is applied to outdoor Heroes or Villains across the zone, and a system message announcing this fact is broadcast. The effect doesn't apply to Heroes or Villains inside door missions within the zone.

(The message text and display of the info is a little confusing. When I complete a mission, a message reading "Colonel Jasmine has completed a mission, the Villains now have a 3% Damage Bonus" is displayed. This is the new status of the damage bonus, which is now lower since I am a Hero. Unfortunately the status icons that show these bonuses don't display the current buff/debuff stats; only the messages do. And when you see a message about another player's buff/debuff results, it's not clear what has just happened unless you already know whether they are a Hero or a Villain.)


2.6. Patrol Missions

The three Warzone Agent contacts (see 2.5.2) also offer a patrol mission to those in the right level range. It's very easy, serves as an introduction to the zone, and contains approximately 6 waypoints. It is always available and is untimed, but cannot be shared with teammates as most missions can. If you log out during the patrol mission, your progress is saved.



2.6.1 Patrol Mission Rewards: Temp Powers

Successful completion of Patrol missions confers a temporary power if you don't already have it. (Reportedly, you cannot get these powers more than 5 times; after this, the Warzone Agent will no longer offer the Patrol mission. I haven't tested this personally.)

See the appropriate zone section for full power descriptions.

Bloody Bay: Hyper Stealth
Siren's Call: Combat Invisibility
Warburg: Hyper Phase
Recluse's Victory: No patrol mission available


2.7. Buying Inspirations

In Bloody Bay, you can buy the basic 8 Level 1 inspirations from Warzone Agent Eckman.

You cannot buy inspirations in Siren's Call, Warburg or Recluse's Victory. (You can, however, win inspirations in the Siren's Call bounty minigame. See Section 3.2.3 below.) You can also earn them by defeating NPC villains as in PVE.

Note that leaving the zone (for whatever reason, including buying inspirations) will restart your score or partial completion of the various zone minigames, so bring what you need.


2.8. Badges

Dozens of unique badges can be earned in the PVP zones: exploration, accomplishment, various types of achievement, and even gladiator badges related to NPCs found only in PVP zones. See Badge-Hunter for much more on this.


2.9. What are the teams?

In three of the zones (Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, and Recluse's Victory) solo or team Heroes battle solo or team Villains. In Warburg, any team or character may fight any other, so Hero/Villain, Hero/Hero and Villain/Villain fights all occur. Teams must still be all Hero or all Villain.

Potential player foes have an orange targeting reticle (frame), name and titles. Unfortunately, so do all dead players. Teammates are green and allies are blue. (Outside Warburg, "allies" are any Heroes not on your current team.)


2.10. Hospital Resurrection

If you go to a PVP zone hospital for revival after death, you will have 1 hit point and 1 endurance. Rest is handy here.


2.11. Chat Communications

By default, you will hear nothing Villains say. To remove this filter, go to Menu | Options | General. Scroll down to the Chat section; there are three toggles there, Show Villain Private Chat, Show Villain Broadcast Chat, and Hide Villain Local Chat. Once you've determined the value of Villain remarks, you can also can use these toggles to turn Villain chat back off.

(You may find allowing Villain Private Chat useful even if you do not PVP. You will not hear tells from friends playing CoV unless you make this change.)


2.12. Debt

(Currently) You get proportional debt (no debt for damage done by a player, but debt for damage done by an NPC). So for example, if you were hit for 80% damage from an NPC, then took 20% from another player and died, you would get 80% debt.

(Planned Dev change as posted by Positron) You get zero debt if you are killed by a Player. You get proportional debt (no debt for damage done by a player, but debt for damage done by an NPC) if the killing blow is landed by an NPC. So for example, if you were hit for 20% damage by another player, then sustained 80% damage from an NPC and died, you would get 80% debt.



2.13 PVP Reputation

If you defeat a player while soloing, you will gain 1 point of Reputation (rep) . When on a team, this rep is split evenly among all team members. If the foe has significantly higher rep than you, you will get a bounty of bonus rep. (In an informal test, a Hero with approximately 90 rep on a team of two defeated a Villain with 195 rep. The Hero received .50 base rep, and a bounty of 2.50 rep.)

To view another character's rep, right click, Info, then select the PvP tab. For yourself, click Menu, Personal Info, PvP tab.

Once you defeat someone in PVP and gain the rep from it, you cannot gain any rep for defeating that character again until after a 10 minute period. A list of such enemies appears on your Personal Info PVP tab.

Rep has no ingame effect apart from two badges - Forward Observer and Disruptor. (Disruptor is awarded for 400 rep, a nontrivial feat. Tragically, it was one of many buggy PVP-related badges, and some who have it have never attained 400 rep.)

Rep gradually falls over time. The decay rate is .1 rep per hour. This is the only way you can lose rep.


2.14 Zone Population

The /whoall command displays a text list of all players in the current zone who are not using the /hide command. (/Hide prevents your name from appearing on all /search displays, local friend lists and Super Group lists; the /hide setting persists across all characters on an account.)

Since you can't see Villains on the /search list, this is the only quick way to get an idea how populated a zone is, and the commonly used /hide limits the usefulness of /whoall. However, it can help you find pickup group teammates, and also will show true level vs. zone autoexemp level, which can be useful in enemy threat assessment.

Use /hide to deny information to the enemy. Not using it may encourage the foe to come out and play, if this is your goal, or help people find you for a teamup.



3. The PVP Zones



3.1. Bloody Bay


3.1.1. Bloody Bay Summary Info

Required Security Level to Enter: 15
Autoexemp Combat Level: 25
Zone Entrance Location: Skyway City (Helicopter)

Mission Contact: Warzone Agent Eckman
Door Mission Level Range: 15-25

General terrain: Bloody is a medium-sized island surrounded by water, with both city and forest areas. The Hero base is north and the Villain base south of the main island; both are built on small islands.


3.1.2. Bloody Bay Temp Power Minigame: Shivan Strike

Talk to the scientist near the helicopter. He'll give you a temp power to use on the six meteorites (marked on your map). Use the power on each meteorite; each use will fill up one of the spots in your nav bar where it says "Shiva Strike."

Once you have all six, you'll need to take over a firebase. These are the small buildings with the four autoturrets on the roof. To take it over, you have to destroy those four turrets plus the other four that are nearby, and then run inside and use the computer before any of the turrets respawn. Your six samples become one sample. Take the resulting sample back to the scientist and you'll get your Shivan. The power has five charges; if you have a current current Shivan Shard power with any charges remaining, you can't benefit from running this minigame again until the charges are expended.

Note that if you are killed while carrying meteor samples, your adversary gets the samples. If you leave Bloody Bay or log out, the samples and temporary power go away and you must start over.


3.1.3. Bloody Bay Minigame Reward: Shivan Shard

Your new temp power summons "Bubba", a large, slow Shivan Decimator pet who attacks with powerful Rad abilities and debuffs. He is a dumb (noncommandable) pet, will be your level when summoned, and lasts about five minutes.


3.1.4. Bloody Bay Minigame Oddities

There are reports of Mayhem Mission salvage that can be used to replace ore samples for the BB minigame.


3.1.5. Bloody Bay Patrol Temp Power Reward: Hyper Stealth

If you complete the Patrol Bloody Bay mission, you get this temp power if you do not already have it. (See Patrol Temp Powers, 2.6.1 above.) It is much like Stealth and lasts for 30 minutes of use. Right clicking on its icon in your power tray will display the usage time remaining.



3.2. Siren's Call


3.2.1. Siren's Call Summary Info

Required Security Level to Enter: 20
Autoexemp Combat Level: 30
Zone Entrance Location: Steel Canyon (Gate in Eastern War Wall)

Mission Contact: Warzone Agent Brinson
Door Mission Level Range: 20-30

General terrain: Northern and central Siren's are an urban battleground between Longbow (Hero) and Arachnos (Villain) armies, as well as neutral fighters that shift sides. (Warriors, Tsoo, Sky Raiders and a few hapless Cogs.) Parts of the zone have been shattered by the fighting. The hospital (the effective Hero base) is in the northwest of the zone. Southern Siren's is a small bay with drilling rigs; at the bay's south side is the small island holding the Villain base.


3.2.2. Siren's Call Temp Power Merchant Minigame: Battle for Siren's Call

When entering Siren's, the nav bar shows the status of the two zone minigames. The Battle for Siren's Call status is shown by the red and blue Score bar, and the Siren's Call Control currently displayed, either Heroes or Villains.

At any given time, the zone is controlled by either the Heroes or the Villains. When controlled by the Heroes, you can buy temp powers from the Hero Merchant just outside the hospital. (See Section 3.2.4 below.)

Zone control shifts back and forth based on battles at Siren's hotspots. At any given time, there are usually one or two active hotspots on the map, shown by white rings with red rays. Large groups of NPCs stand around there, and sometimes decide to shoot at one another; at the southeastern (waterfront) and northwestern (plaza) hotspots, they will wait indefinitely for players to get things started by creating aggro. Players can both attack enemy forces and assist friendlies with heals, buffs and taunts.

Neutral mobs also hang around the hotspots; they will aggro on Arachnos, Longbow or any player.

Once started, a winner will eventually be declared for the battle with a yellow zone-wide announcement. The winning side is the first to kill an undetermined number of enemy mobs, so it's possible to win a battle with your side's "army" never firing a shot. (The role of kills achieved by neutral mobs is unclear.) The win will color the Score bar more blue (Hero win) or red (Villain win). When the bar is all red or all blue, that side wins zone control, which may unlock temp powers - see Section 3.2.4.


3.2.3. Siren's Call Reward Minigame: Bounty Hunting

The second minigame status shows in the Current Bounty and Most Wanted fields in your navigation bar.

When you or your team defeat a player Villain, you gain bounty, and it is added to your total displayed in the nav. Successful Heroes or Villains with many kills are worth more bounty. You also gain 100 bounty from a hotspot battle won by Hero forces (although it's not clear whether you need to be at the hotspot or just in the zone.) You will lose any bounty accumulated if you leave the zone or disconnect from the game.

Use the bounty points to buy rewards from the Security Chief just inside the Siren's gate. He offers medium-size inspirations at the price of 1k bounty points each and Single Origin (SO) enhancements at 6k each. (See below.)

The Most Wanted Villain is worth the most bounty to you. His or her last known location is shown on your minimap by a white ring with an orange center. This doesn't always work correctly, and is imperfectly understood; sometimes the same player will have two rings on the minimap. Unfortunately, there is nothing to stop the Most Wanted player on either side from idling in the safety of their side's base.


3.2.3.1 Siren's Call Bounty Hunting Rewards: Inspiration Types (all medium level)
Defense
Damage Resistance
Accuracy
Endurance
Healing
Damage
Resurrection
Discipline
(Misnamed in the reward menu "Break-Free", this is actually the obsolete magenta inspiration formerly called Determination. For effectiveness against anything other than Immobilize attacks, it must be activated beforehand and is thus inferior to a true BF.)


3.2.3.2 Siren's Call Bounty Hunting Rewards: SO Enhancement Types

These will be +3 to your Security Level and appropriate to your origin.

Damage
Accuracy
Range
Recharge
Endurance Reduction


3.2.4. Siren's Call Minigame Temp Powers

When the Heroes first win the zone from Villain control, the victory unlocks the initial 5 temp powers for Heroes, and removes access to them for Villains. If the Heroes win the zone again while they already control it, an additional 4 temp powers are unlocked (if they aren't already unlocked). The Villains can gain access to the same powers in the same way.

All powers cost 10,000 influence from the Hero Merchant and can be used outside Siren's Call. You can only purchase a power if you don't already have it.


3.2.4.1 Initial Five Siren's Call Temp Powers

The weapons (2 Grenades and the EMP Glove) have charges that last until used. The other 6 powers are toggles, available for 30 minutes after purchase regardless of how much or how little you use it. Note that once purchased, they do *not* display the time remaining for use, so unless you track them carefully they may suddenly expire on you.

Raptor Pack, Low-G Pack, Jaunt Initializer - These powers mimic Fly, Super Jump and Teleport respectively. Each lasts 30 minutes from the moment of purchase.

Web Grenade - A clip of 6 short-range grenades which hit a single target with Immobilize, -Fly, -Jump and -Recharge. Great.. when they hit. (Not to be confused with the Villain Patrol Pool Power of the same name, which is more accurate and lasts longer. Or with the /Devices Blaster power of the same name. Nor with the Scrapper Munitions Mastery power of the same name.)

EMP Glove - An end-draining ranged attack with 10 charges. Some people like it but I find it doesn't hit that hard.


3.2.4.2 Four Additional Siren's Call Temp Powers

Stealth Suit - much like Stealth

Stun Grenade - AOE stun weapon. 6 charge clip.

IR Goggles - boosts Perception, handy against Stalkers

Cryonite Armor - defense against Smashing and Lethal damage and resistance to Cold damage


3.2.5. Siren's Call Patrol Temp Power Reward: Combat Invisibility

If you complete the Patrol Bloody Bay mission, you get this temp power if you do not already have it. (See section 2.6.1 above.) It is much like Stealth without a speed penalty and will last for 30 minutes of use. Right clicking on its icon in your power tray will display the usage time remaining.



3.3. Warburg


3.3.1. Warburg Summary Info

Required Security Level to Enter: 30
Autoexemp Combat Level: 38
Zone Entrance Location: Kings Row (Helicopter)

Mission Contact: Warzone Agent Goddard
Door Mission Level Range: 30 - 50

General terrain: Warburg is a somber, COV-style cityscape surrounded by water. Each side's base is on a ship offshore. Underneath Warburg is the Web, a network of tunnels, underground hangars and labs with several entrances infested by Arachnoids. Part of the zone minigame takes place in the Web.


3.3.2. Temp Power Minigame: Launch the Warburg Rocket

(adapted from a Support/Nurse Illusion post)

1. Speak to the Hero Contact on the Warburg ship base.
2. Go into the Web and locate a scientist. Rescue them as in a PVE mission, by defeating all surrounding NPCs.
3. Once rescued lead them to surface and to a drop off point. They will then give you a set of launch codes.
4. Repeat step 3. You need 3 sets of codes. If another player defeats you, they get any codes you are carrying.
5. Once you have 3 codes you go to a series of computers in the Web to launch a missile into orbit.
6. Missile launched, you now have the Nuke.


3.3.3. Temp Power Reward: Warburg Missiles

(adapted from a Lord_Crow post and paragonwiki.com)

Three AOE powers, one use each:

Chemical Burn -- lowers foe accuracy and damage resistance

Biological Mutagens -- buffs damage and regeneration

Nuclear Blast -- inflicts end drain and damage, with a bonus against "robotic units"


3.3.4. Warburg Patrol Temp Power Reward: Hyper Phase

If you complete the Patrol Warburg mission, you get this temp power if you do not already have it. (See section 2.6.1 above.) It is much like Phase Shift and also boosts run and flight speeds. It will last for 30 minutes of use. Right clicking on its icon in your power tray will display the usage time remaining.



3.4. Recluse's Victory


3.4.1. Recluse's Victory Summary Info
Required Security Level to Enter: 40
AutoSK Combat Level: 50
Zone Entrance Location: Atlas Park (Portal in D.A.T.A Office, Downstairs in City Hall)

Missions: No missions are available in Recluse's Victory.

General terrain: Recluse's Victory is Atlas Park in a dark future where Lord Recluse and his Villains bid for control Paragon City.. unless Heroes do something about it. (When you go, take a look at the Atlas globe when the zone is under Villain control.) Unlike present-day Atlas Park, you can't go all the way to the War Wall; those mysterious blue planes of force in the middle of nowhere bound the zone.


3.4.2. Special Zone Resource: Heavy (Freedom Corps Cataphract Class Heavy Assault Robot)

This large, beautiful piece of technology is available to Heroes at three platforms on the west side of the zone. If the heavy belonging to a particular platform is available, the platform's console will glow, and you can take control of the heavy by clicking on it and waiting about 10 sec for an activation bar to complete. (Great time to get attacked by a Stalker.) Once you control it, a control bar for it appears.

The Heavy is a slow-moving, hard-hitting Level 54 Elite Boss. Its controls are identical to those used by Mastermind pets; check a good MM guide for more on that.

The Heavy has four attack powers:
a launched Grenade (looks like those Freak Tanks use) - adequate damage
Seeker Drones similar to those used by Mastermind Villains - can hit for adequate damage, but often drift around uselessly
Arm Blasters - good damage
Cannon of Death unfolding from the back - excellent short-period damage over time, requires close range

Strangely, only the damage your Heavy inflicts from the back cannon will appear in the combat log (as Energy Barrage).

You will gain Experience and Reputation for NPCs and player Villains defeated by your Heavy. If you die, you lose control of the Heavy and after a pause it returns to its platform.

Arachnos has provided the zone's Villains with a parallel robot, the Arachnos Heavy Blaster. While of roughly equivalent strength and control mechanics, they aren't the same. The Arachnos Heavy is stronger in melee, the Freedom Corps bot better at ranged attacks. The Villain Heavy control platforms are on the east side of RV. You get no reward (XP, influence, prestige or rep) for defeating an Arachnos Heavy.



3.4.3 Reward Minigame: Recluse's Victory Zone Control


3.4.3.1 Pillboxes

RV sports a series of 7 code-named pillboxes scattered throughout the zone, marked on your map, and with status shown in the nav bar. When the game starts (yellow message, "Dimensional Reversion!") they are all neutral and will attack approaching Heroes, Villains or their pets with their four Pop-up Anti-Personnel Guns (Level 54 purple Bosses.)

To seize a pillbox for the Hero side, destroy its four guns, then click on the force bubble in the center where the blue hand icon appears. After about ten (interruptible) seconds of activation, the pillbox will come up armed with commandable Hero-aligned armaments: two High Explosive Missile Turrets and 2 Quad Howitzer Batteries. (Level 50 Bosses, yellow.) It will be marked as Hero-controlled on the nav bar and map, and its color scheme will change to blue and white. Like the Heavy (See Section 3.4.2) the guns can be commanded with Mastermind-style controls, but cannot move. (All commandable pets will share the same list.) You can only command the pillbox guns while inside the pillbox's central command bubble force field. The field protects against ranged attacks but not against physical Villain entry or their attacks once inside. (Thus, controlling a pillbox alone is another great way to get whacked by a Stalker.) If you leave the pillbox, you will have to assert control again via the blue hand icon.


3.4.3.2 Zone Control and AVs/Signature Heroes

When one side gains control of 4 pillboxes simultaneously, powerful reinforcements show up to help the losing side: Lord Recluse and the other signature Archvillains for the Villains, Statesman and other famous Freedom Phalanx heroes for the Heroes. (See Section 3.4.4.1 below.) A global system message tells all players which pillbox they are heading to. Even after the recent rollback of their regeneration abilities, these major Heroes and Villains remain a tough nut to crack.. especially if player Villains or Heroes are helping them out. However, if the losing side takes another pillbox, or the dimension resets, they will vanish immediately.

If one side gains control of 6 pillboxes simultaneously, that side wins. The winning side gets a five-minute bonus round wherein player enemies defeated grant extra Prestige (or Influence, depending on your SG mode setting.) (The losing side gets a different message, "Defeat [Heroes/Villains] to Reset Dimension" with an enemy countdown. I've never seen the reset countdown completed and don't know how it works.) After the bonus round, the game resets and begins again with another "Dimensional Reversion!" yellow message. All pillboxes return to neutral status.


3.4.3.3 Zone Control Points

Each Hero has a personal point total for achievements in the minigame. This total will reset to 0 if you log out or leave the zone, or when the game ends.

Defeating neutral or Villain turret: 15 points
Capturing neutral or Villain pillbox: 20 points
Being present in the zone when Heroes win: 25 points
Killing player Villain: 150 points (may vary)
Killing NPC Archvillain (AV): Unknown

There may be other ways to get points; my study was not exhaustive. No zone control points for killing mobile Villain NPCs in the zone.


3.4.3.4 Temp Power Reward: Longbow Mech

"Junior" is a miniature Heavy. You will gain the temp power to summon him once when the Zone Control minigame is completed *if* you have 1000 zone points at that time, and *if* you don't already have this temp power. (I myself have only gotten the power when Heroes win, but reportedly you will get the power win or lose.) He is a pet of your level (shows yellow to a Lvl 50, implying Lieutenant strength.) He will last indefinitely, will not zone, but will persist after your death. Compared to the Heavy, he has the same four attacks (although not as powerful in their damage), far fewer hit points and quicker movement.

Junior is a "dumb" pet; he cannot be commanded. However, sometimes if you have other pets with a status bar, that can be, you will get a status bar for Junior on your pet list, which is handy for tracking his health and buffing him. I have had other people's Longbow Mechs follow me around in RV after they left!


3.4.4.1 Signature Archvillains (AVs)

This information is incomplete and may well be somewhat inaccurate. Thanks to Aged_ice for info on attacks. All the Signature AVs are tough - bear in mind that though their target info says Archvillain, they are Giant Monster class foes.


Lord Recluse
Big bad honcho AV. Continually summons debt-giving level 54 Bane Spider Executioners to help him out. Attacks: A multiple arm blast like that of Crab Spiders, a smaller single target, and a very mean melee swipe. Appears with Black Scorpion.


Black Scorpion
Attacks: several ranged blasts and a ranged AoE. Appears with Lord Recluse.


Ghost Widow
Very dangerous. Has a phenomenal AOE melee heal and perhaps the most powerful hold in the game, Soul Storm. It flips the target into the air and tumbles them about in a very entertaining fashion, and a break free inspiration cannot counter it once you are in its grip. Other attacks: Soul Tentacles (looks like tenebrous tentacles) and a gloom like attack. GW appears with Captain Mako and sometimes with Scirocco.


Scirocco
Flier. Rarer in appearance than the other Signature AVs. Attacks: Mu shackles, the waterspout attack from Mako that animates as a sound storm, Lightning blasts from the electric sets) and a powerful melee attack. Appears with Captain Mako and Ghost Widow.


Captain Mako
Difficult to hit when his super-Elude style ability kicks in. Attacks: Bile Spray, Stealth, possibly Spirit Shark, Swipe (or Slash?) from the claws set, and Ripper from spines. His School of Sharks hold causes ghostly sharks to swim in a little circle around the target. Appears with Ghost Widow and sometimes with Scirocco.


3.4.4.2 Signature Heroes (Freedom Phalanx)

(thanks to Stratoman)

Manticore: Arrows defender. Has leadership pool and stealth.
Positron: Radiation defender. Has Overload and EMP Pulse.
Sister Psyche: Mind/Bubble controller. Has pink energy blasts as well.
Back Alley Brawler: Invul/SS/EM Tanker. Has unstoppable.
Synapse: Electric Blaster. Has SS on always.
Statesman: Tanker Incarnate, Invul/SS with 2 lightning powers, 1 is mass death AoE.


4. Other Types of PVP

This guide is about PVP zones (also called open zone PVP), so I'll just include a brief summary on the two other PVP styles: Arena PVP and base raid PVP.


4.1. Arena PVP

Up to 64 Heroes or Villains battle in teams, duels, or in huge FFAs known as a battle royale. The Arena excels as a venue for experimentation with powers, teams and tactics in a more controlled situation. The ingame help has useful detail on Arena fights. Unfortunately, the Arena is a little unstable. I personally crash out of maybe 1 arena battle in 4.

There is a fair amount of Arena activity on the Test server. Matches, leagues and other events are set there to allow players from all servers to participate. It's useful and fun to pick a hero with a respec available, copy that hero onto the Test server, several times if you like, and fool around with your build.

Arena play is often more intense than open zone PVP fighting; the maps are smaller and a lot of very strong players and teams throw down there. Plays that work in the open zone may not be effective under the pressure of Arena battle.

The Arena also supports gladiator matches. Technically this is PVP since you compete against another player, but it's your Pokemon-style gladiators against those of your opponent(s) using Mastermind style controls, with the selection of fighters based on the Gladiator section of your Badge listing.


4.2. Base Raid PVP

Members of two Super Groups go at it in a battle set inside an SG base. Currently, only instant raids for fun (no consequences) are supported. For the future, the devs plan to add support for scheduled raids, with persistent consequences.


5. Self-Preservation Advice


5.1 Battle Tactics

Go in a team. A big team.
Be aware that Stalkers and others will use stealth powers to ambush you and to escape if you pursue them.
Expect a lot of mez on you and be ready for it.
Keep moving - a stationary Hero is a target.
Minimize typing - stay alert. The pace of PVP battle is brutally swift.
Be aware of lines of sight. If you can't be targeted, it's much more difficult to hit you.


5.2. Key Powers to Know


5.2.1 TP Foe

This is a very important PVP power. You can be teleported into groups of player or NPC enemies, a minefield, or (most annoyingly of all) the drones that guard the Villain base, which will pretty swiftly stun you and kill you. Only the last can really be prevented - by staying away from the Villain base. Remember that if NPCs kill you, you will incur debt. Defense against ranged attacks reduces the effectiveness of enemy TP Foe, as do orange inspirations.

The best prevention for TP Foe is to stay out of the line of sight of enemies who might use it.


5.2.2 Assassin Strike (AS)

AS is the cornerstone power of the Villain Stalker archetype. Stalkers are a very popular Villain character choice, and once you've been on the receiving end of an AS you will understand why. This mega-attack can kill a squishy in one blow, and when performed by an Energy Melee stalker can easily stun its target. It must be delivered from hiding or set up with the Stalker ability Placate.

(Note: While in theory no attack can kill an undamaged player in one blow, in practice an AS may be composed of two or more simultaneous "applications" of damage [either because it has two damage types, gets a critical, or both.] Thus AS has the potential to deliver a one shot kill, though a little luck is required and even a squishy will often have a sliver of health left after an AS.)


5.2.3 Scourge

This is the Corruptor's inherent ability. Essentially, as your hits drop, Corruptor attacks have an increasing chance for bonus damage, up to double base strength.


5.2.4 Mezzes

Successful holds, stuns, and immobilizes will usually be decisive if not dealt with by the target or their team. Get Break Free inspirations before you come to the zone. If you're not a Tank or Scrapper, get a lot.


5.2.5 Hide, Concealment and Perception

A Stalker's Hide power is like Stealth, only far more so. Without Tactics, Clear Mind or another perception buff (+per) power, you won't see them coming. Other foe ATs use concealment type powers to good effect as well and it's critical to plan for this. Pretty obviously, if you can't target the foe, there's a sharp limit to what you can do (basically: use an AOE and get lucky; get some +per; wait for them to make a mistake.)

Here is a guide with discussion of the numbers.



5.2.5 Unfamiliar Powers

Unless you're really knowledgeable about Villain powers, some of what they do will be new to you. When in a safe place, like the hospital, check the combat log afterwards to familiarize yourself with Villain attacks.



5.3 Fight Club and Duels

(thanks to Max_Firepower for this section)

Various servers have different incarnations and locations for this ‘alternative’ to the largely deserted arenas. In general, a circle of heroes and villains will (mostly) stop attacking each other so one vs. one and the occasional duo battle can be run, while others watch.

Please note, if you are NOT a part of this circle, you may be killed while approaching, particularly if you are running debuffs, etc, that affect Stalkers and others as you approach. Note, some Stalkers seem to think it is rather funny to AS heroes who are ostensibly watching the battle. While not common, it does happen.

Some love Fight Club. Others loathe it. If you choose to observe the ‘rules’ of Fight Club, inquire early. If you choose to ignore those rules, you may infuriate the other players (some players care about that, others do not), or may have a difficult time finding opposing players who are willing to engage in ‘normal’ PvP.

Also, sometimes players will request a duel from a foe (call them out) on the broadcast channel. It's up to you whether to leave such duelists alone; if you jump in, as a rule they don't like it if they were winning.


6. The PVP Philosophy


6.1. Chill out.

When you first battle other players, the chance is excellent that you will lose, a lot. This can be a real blow to the ego.. as you will quickly learn if you listen to the broadcast channel. Only some people never get over it. Relax and be willing to learn from your mistakes. It is, after all, just a game; and one where your PVE experience, while not useless, is only a small fraction of the story. The many powers in COH/COV take on a whole new tactical significance when applied by canny players. Sometimes, being hit and getting away alive is the best you will get out of a bad situation.


6.2. Talk is cheap.

If you win, gloating really adds nothing. If you lose, various types of kvetching, moaning and dissing don't retroactively cause you to win. Save your energy for something more satisfying.

By the same token, victorious enemies will crow, and defeated enemies will whinge and curse. Let 'em - it doesn't matter.

Ask no quarter. It often backfires, provoking a foe into giving you special, painful attention.


6.3. It's a team game.

Sure, a 1v1 duel can be fun, but the PVP game really comes into its own when larger groups square off. Don't get too worked up if a particular AT is your nemesis in 1v1, or if a group jumps you with unpleasant results. This is expected.



7. Links

These were all either cited in this guide, or helpful to me in researching it and PVPing.

Buffy (PVP basics guide)

Badge-hunter.com (badges, maps and more. Look in the vidiotmaps section for the maps.)

Coldfront (badges and more)

Red Tomax (temp powers, badges and much more)

The Paragon Wiki (temp powers and much more)

Copying a hero onto the Test server - instructions

Mastermind guide (for heavy controls)

Perception guide


8. Glossary

1v1 --- One on one PVP combat, whether intentional or not
BB --- Bloody Bay
drone (n) --- guard drones around bases. Police Drones for Hero bases, Arbiter Drones for Villain bases.
drone (v) --- to TP Foe an enemy into drones
Fight Club --- players gathered peacefully (?) to watch fights in open PVP zones. See Section 5.3
gank (v) --- to execute other players in a one-sided fashion
open PVP --- PVP that takes place in the four PVP zones
open zone --- one of the four PVP zones - see Section 3
own --- to defeat soundly
pwn --- to own emphatically
PPP --- Patron Power Pools - what villains have instead of Epic/Ancillary Power Pools
PVP --- Player vs Player. Combat between players in the Arena, a base raid between Super Groups, or the four open PVP zones.
PVE --- Player vs Environment. Combat against NPC foes. Before I4, all of City of Heroes was PVE.
RV --- Recluse's Victory
SC --- Siren's Call, or sometimes (confusingly) Steel Canyon
Shivan --- Usually a BB temp power (See Section 3.1.3) but can also refer to NPCs found there
Soul Storm --- A Villain hold power. See Ghost Widow, Section 3.4.4.1 above
spike --- a massive moment of incoming damage, usually from multiple enemies
Warburg nuke --- Three temp powers. See Section 3.3.3


9. Acknowledgments

Sections of this guide and facts were adapted from posts by the following:

Lemur_Lad
Beef Cake
FunkyWaltDogg
Support (Nurse Illusion)
Lord_Crow
Rush_Bolt
ValkyrieRising
Memphis_Bill
Stratoman
Aged_ice

Additional acknowledgments:

Authors of guides and admins of websites listed in the Links section
Max_Firepower (Fight Club section and general editorial help)
Labrynth
Kenau
Kildy
Plorg, Ketjak and the Monkey Gods
Marcus Hamilton
The COH official forum Player Questions community

and all the 24 hour party people of Siren's Call and Recluse's Victory.



10. Afterword

"...there were men and women with amazing abilities - and unbridled courage - who battled tyranny and defeated it at every turn! What happened to them? Where are they? Where are our heroes?" - Frank Miller



@Colonel Jasmine
50 Empath, Freedom
(and a bunch of alts)

Luminous (Freedom)
The UnB0und (Guardian)

Biased; but

Well thought out and well done, Colonel Jasmine.



Max

A great guide! Thank you for your work on this.

Thanks y'all.

A future update to this guide is likely. I would especially appreciate more info on Recluse's Victory Signature AV attacks and powers. Some of my encounters with them have been very brief.

hey well done even if it was from the heros pov, still great reading.

Okay, I discovered a mistake. The Villain temp powers at the Sirens Call merchant are *not* the same as those for Heroes. Some are, but they also get items like the Arachnos Mace that Heroes do not.

So I will be doing an update at indefinite future date, and posting anything I find out about that's actually wrong here.

Nice work.

One fix, section 3.3.2. Temp Power Minigame: Launch the Warburg Rocket.

Step 5 should read something like "5. Once you have 3 codes you go to 1 of 3 blinking computers in the Web to arm the rocket with the desired payload." (You may want to add the warning about stealth suppressing when you click one since they are for all intents and purposes like a mission blinkie.)

Step 6 should be to head to the rocket launcher outside the Web/near the rocket/whatever.

Step 7 is the old number 6.

You may also want to add that launching a rocket 10 times results in a badge.

You might even further add that if you play on Triumph server, you MUST go get the Triumphant badge on top of the globe. (Hey, it's not my fault the Devs threw Triumph a bone )

[ QUOTE ]
Note, some Stalkers seem to think it is rather funny to AS heroes who are ostensibly watching the battle. While not common, it does happen.

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm, we don't think it's funny, we just want to play the game. You yourself said to be alert and move around, but if you stop to watch a duel, it's 100% fair to be attacked by a Stalker, even if you plead villains on Broadcast not to attack you because you're unable to defend yourself (Which isn't true; it's not like you can't still mash buttons on your keyboard when watching a duel)

Other than that, good guide.

Going to support the good Colonel on that one.

This is a guide written with some personality. I think you have to give her that. She is also wading into several minefields, among them "don't gank me when I'm badge hunting," "stalkers are too powerful," "don't gank me while I'm watching fight club," and several others.

That should be evident reading this very informative, pretty neutral, yet lightly-humorous guide. She does take sides (see section 2.3), but you have to be able to draw her conclusions yourself.

Notice that your comment...

[ QUOTE ]
it's 100% fair to be attacked by a Stalker, even if you plead villains on Broadcast not to attack you

[/ QUOTE ]

....is not disputed in the guide (see again section 2.3).

But I'll even agree with her. I've seen stalkers do things like that--and some other things--because they think it's funny and they can pull it off. And I'm usually right there laughing.

But I say keep the statement since in context it should be taken to mean "stalkers will take the opportunity to AS heroes who are...watching the battle."

Are you certain that Siren's Call PvP door missions stop being available at 30, in my notes I've scribbled down that I was able to get missions at lvl 32 hero-side in Issue 6, I haven't tested at higher levels yet, or since issue 7 for that matter.

Oh, great guide by the way. Very easy to read too.

Edit: You got my 500th post, lucky you

Personally I thought the Siren guy tells me to talk to the hand at 30. I can help verify tonight with my 30 or 31 blaster if ColJasmine doesn't get to it first.

I only have a couple 30s; I'd like to do a "clean" test with one that hasn't been to Warburg yet, but I don't think I can do that--getting the WB contact ph # is one of the first things I do at 30.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Note, some Stalkers seem to think it is rather funny to AS heroes who are ostensibly watching the battle.

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm, we don't think it's funny, we just want to play the game. You yourself said to be alert and move around, but if you stop to watch a duel, it's 100% fair to be attacked by a Stalker

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have an opinion on the ethics of Fight Club or those who like to bust it up. My point was that some players find it amusing to jump in on FC. Not necessarily you. I mentioned it so people who watch FC think about that possibility beforehand, not to make a value judgment.

Anyway my man Max Firepower wrote that section.

I think they stop at 30. Just tested a 31 (my other 2 in the 30s are 33s). Agent says he has no more work for me.

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, great guide by the way. Very easy to read too.

Edit: You got my 500th post, lucky you

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, Tomax. Getting praise from you really made my evening.

and thanks for the mission investigation Squez - I have no 30 or 31 to check this out personally.

<<
Please note, if you are NOT a part of this circle, you may be killed while approaching, particularly if you are running debuffs, etc, that affect Stalkers and others as you approach. Note, some Stalkers seem to think it is rather funny to AS heroes who are ostensibly watching the battle. While not common, it does happen.>>

The battle being "Fight club" - not the hurly-burly of a Hotspot or miscellaneous engagement. I meant when 10 heroes, and 10 villains standing around, watching someone duel. A villain for circle moves to another part of circle and AS's one of the heroes. That's the situation I was referring to. That's about the only time an AS is remotely "cheesy" in my opinion. But then again - it IS a PVP zone, so... Fight Club is what it is.

Make no mistake - It's NOT that big a deal, but the surprise AS can be quite a shock if you are not ready for 'check your ethics at the door' gatherings.

This post is worth TWICE what you paid for it, btw.

[ QUOTE ]
One fix, section 3.3.2. Temp Power Minigame: Launch the Warburg Rocket. [etc.]


[/ QUOTE ]

My original plan was to test everything in the guide personally. Alas, I didn't launch the Warburg rocket whilst taking notes, so some errors slipped in there. I plan to fix this in an update at unspecified future date. Thanks again.

[ QUOTE ]
You may also want to add that launching a rocket 10 times results in a badge.

[/ QUOTE ]

I opted to omit badge specifics, partly cause the Badge-hunter crew have them covered so well, partly because numerous PVP-related badges set a new standard for bugginess and their status is somewhat ambiguous.

For the future - we'll see.

Mostly I wanted to add what I could where I could. You did a lot of work on the write-up, and I also liked your use of the word "minigame" to describe the other activities (Shenmue player here).

Many, many people are skilled PvPers and spend a lot of time doing it and doing it well; and then there's me. (And so I spend a lot of time doing the other stuff in the zones.)

The Warburg nuke run is the one I play the most, and I've done it with a variety of ATs. I jumped in with a description from the forums I can't find anymore, but yours is just as good (with the edit). Only other thing I might add for a first timer is that the 3 Web exits are clearly marked; if you're running for your life to get out, those exit signs can be life savers.

And I don't know if you've seen Robotech_Master's guide to the Shivan Shard minigame. My first couple times soloing it were a disaster, and I found RM's method very helpful.

Keep up the good work, ColJasmine.

If you enjoyed my guide or want to learn more about PVP, I highly recommend Nicci's PVP 101 guide. She has a lot on areas I didn't cover: Arena, in-depth tactical discussion, PVP character selection, base raids and more.

I LOVE this guide, it's very easy to read right through and I didn't get bored at any point and sometimes I found myself smiling and nodding in places Two things I did notice though is that you can only do each patrol mission 3 times (Both hero and villain side, I can verify this as i've done it myself cause I love setting myself to invincible/relentless and farming the reward xp from the patrols), and the heavy has another attack (That kinda grenade thingy it fires that explodes in mid air and sprays that blue cloud stuff that does lotsa AOE damage.)

Great info for new Heroes. Nice job.

[ QUOTE ]
5.2.2 Assassin Strike (AS)

AS is the cornerstone power of the Villain Stalker archetype. Stalkers are a very popular Villain character choice, and once you've been on the receiving end of an AS you will understand why. This mega-attack can kill a squishy in one blow, and when performed by an Energy Melee stalker can easily stun its target. It must be delivered from hiding or set up with the Stalker ability Placate.

[/ QUOTE ] About that highlighted section, are you sure you're not thinking of Total Focus? I don't think any of the AS have additional effects on them, EM included.

lol pvp

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
5.2.2 Assassin Strike (AS)


when performed by an Energy Melee stalker can easily stun its target.



[/ QUOTE ] About that highlighted section, are you sure you're not thinking of Total Focus? I don't think any of the AS have additional effects on them, EM included.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good catch. Will correct in future edition at unspecified future date.

Great guide! So, has anyone gone out and tested the possible limits to how many times you can run the Patrol missions and/or get the temp powers for doing them?

Yes, but there are conflicting reports of getting the temp power three times and five times, so I won't put anything definite till I test it myself.